The qualifications made this an impossible list. We really should have split this list into two different categories. I should have never opened up the list to anyone who was from Baltimore, played at an area high school, played at a local college or played locally at the professional level. I should have instead split that group up into two categories-players from Johns Hopkins or Maryland in one group and the rest in another category altogether.

You know how tough this list was? Think about the names I ended up leaving OUTSIDE the Top 16. I’d share them with you now, but I don’t want to give away anyone who missed the list. Here goes. (Thanks to Inside Lacrosse, the Baltimore Sun, the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Loyola, Towson and UMBC for assists on info, pictures, etc.)

16. Jim Darcangelo

I’m not trying to get anything past anyone. The bottom four spots on the list are claimed by players who perhaps aren’t REALLY among the 16 greatest of all-time. But they all represent one of the area colleges who deserved to be recognized on the list. It became difficult to keep determining the NEXT greatest player in Hopkins history, so I decided to start looking elsewhere.

Darcangelo was a three time All-American as a midfielder for Towson, helping the Tigers claim the 1974 College Division National Championship. He was twice recognized as the Division II/III Player of the Year during his Towson career and went on to play for Team USA in three World Championships.

TOWSON, Md. – Top-seeded Maryland captured its 12th national title Sunday with a 15-12 victory against No. 2 seed Syracuse in front of a record crowd of 10,311 at the 2014 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

Maryland (23-1) was led in scoring by lone senior starter Beth Glaros, who notched five goals. Taylor Cummings, Brooke Griffin and Kristen Lamon added hat tricks. The Terrapins boasted a 16-13 advantage in the draw circle, including eight from Cummings, en route to their first national championship since 2010.

Maryland’s offense erupted from the onset, posting a commanding 5-0 run in the first 4:20 of the game. After Lamon began the drive with a score 43 seconds in the contest, Glaros and Cummings each found the back of the net for a 3-0 Terrapin lead. Lamon extended the cushion to four after an incredible feed from Kelly McPartland before the All-American midfielder gave Maryland its fifth consecutive goal at 25:40.

After Maryland was able to snag the first six draw controls of the game, Syracuse was finally able to gain its first possession and Kayla Treanor provided the Orange with a goal at 24:20. Amy Cross made it two-straight for Syracuse with a tally 1:20 later.

Treanor shrunk Maryland’s lead to two with a top-shelf score at 12:06 and Alyssa Murray made it four-in-a-row for the Orange with a goal at 9:42 for a 5-4 match.

Cummings snapped a 16-minute scoring drought with an absolute rocket at 9:34 to push Maryland’s lead back to two and Glaros extended it to three with a free position goal following a Syracuse yellow card, one of six issued to the Orange Sunday. Cummings – a Tewaaraton finalist – made it a hat trick with a tally through traffic with about five minutes remaining in the first half and gave Maryland a 9-6 lead at the break.

Syracuse struck first in the second stanza but the Terrapins quickly countered after an unselfish look from Cummings to Griffin for a 10-7 score with 27 minutes remaining before a second consecutive tally by Griffin extended the Maryland advantage to four.

Griffin continued to make her presence known in the final period, completing a second-half hat trick with a spectacular move around the crease for a five-goal Terrapin lead at 21:26. Lamon became the fourth Terrapin to record a hat trick with a free position goal for a 13-7 game with 19:38 remaining.

Syracuse halted the 4-0 run with a Kailah Kempney effort at 17:53 to end a nine-minute scoring lull before Glaros picked up two straight goals to push Maryland’s lead to seven.

The Orange mustered one final run with four consecutive goals for a 15-12 score but the Terps’ defense buckled down in the final four minutes of play to take home the title.

“What an amazing night this is for our Maryland lacrosse program,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “Our girls came out and fought hard from the opening whistle until the end. Lacrosse is a game of runs and there were a lot of them tonight. We really stuck together and played the full sixty minutes and we are really excited to come away with the national championship.”

Maryland’s 23 wins in 2014 ties a program-record, originally set in 2001 when the Terps went 23-0 on their way to a seventh-consecutive national championship.

Cummings was named NCAA Championship Most Valuable Player and joined Beth Glaros, Kelly McPartland and Megan Douty on the All-Tournament Team. The Terps will return 11 of 12 starters next season.

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• Duke advanced to its fifth NCAA title game with a 15-12 win over Denver

• The Blue Devils face off against Notre Dame in the championship match for the second time overall

• Notre Dame advanced on an 11-6 win over ACC foe Maryland, earning its second appearance in title match

The Series History

• Duke and Notre Dame meet for the second time this season and 16th time overall

• The Blue Devils hold a 9-6 lead in the series and a 3-1 edge in NCAA Tournament games

• Duke won the 2014 regular season game 15-7 in South Bend

Tale Of The Tape

Category

Duke

Notre Dame

Overall Record

16-3

12-5

Shots/Game

41.8

37.4

Goals/Game

15.05

12

Assists/Game

9.11

6.12

Points/Game

24.2

18.2

Shot %

0.36

0.321

GAA

9.68

9.46

GBs/Game

35.2

31.1

EMO

24-65 (.369)

35-66 (.530)

Man Down

53-80 (.662)

33-57 (.579)

Clears

319-356 (.896)

227-262 (.866)

Faceoff %

305-528 (.578)

238-426 (.559)

Duke by the Numbers

2-2 – The Blue Devils’ record in NCAA title games

298 – Career points for Jordan Wolf, two shy of becoming the second ACC player to reach 300

169 – Points this season by Duke’s first midfield line of Class, Jones and Walsh – the most by a unit in school history

97 – Points this season for Jordan Wolf, three shy of becoming the first Blue Devil to record 100 points in a season

18 – Points for Myles Jones in three NCAA Tournament games, five shy of Matt Danowski’s Duke record 23

4 – Goals for Kyle Keenan on four shots in semifinal win over Denver

468 – Career ground balls for Brendan Fowler, five shy of taking over the No. 4 spot in NCAA history

488 – Faceoffs taken by Brendan Fowler in 2014, second in NCAA single season history to his 526 taken last year

32 – Career hat tricks for Jordan Wolf, including 13 this season

18 – Goals per game average for the Blue Devils in the three tournament games this year

8.00 – Goals allowed by per game by Notre Dame in its three NCAA Tournament games

How Duke Got Here

Duke junior Kyle Keenan registered four goals and Jordan Wolf added five points to help the Blue Devils to a 15-12 win over Denver … Junior goaltender Kyle Turri came off the bench to make four saves in 13:46 of action to hold off the Pioneers down the stretch … Deemer Class added three goals and Chad Cohan had two … Christian Walsh dished out a game-high three assists.

How Notre Dame Got Here

Matt Kavanagh had five goals and seven points overall to lead Notre Dame to an 11-6 win over Maryland … Connor Doyle added four points … Matt Landis forced three turnovers in the Irish’s defensive effort and Connor Kelly made 14 saves against the Terps.

Last Time We Met

Jordan Wolf tallied four goals and three assists and Deemer Class added five goals and two assists to lead the No. 3 Blue Devils to a 15-7 win over seventh-ranked Notre Dame in early April … Duke held Notre Dame scoreless for 21:57 en route to a 5-1 lead early in the second quarter … Duke led by as many as 10 and held Irish leading scorer Matt Kavanagh without a goal and to just two shots overall in the game … The Irish won the faceoff battle 15-10.

The Streak Continues

Duke has won seven straight NCAA Tournament games … The Blue Devils are trying to become the first repeat champion since Syracuse won in 2008 and 2009 and the sixth program to do so in NCAA history … The Blue Devils are the lone squad to reach eight consecutive championship weekends in the 21st century … Since 2000, Duke, Syracuse and Virginia have landed in the NCAA semifinal round nine times … Maryland and Johns Hopkins have seven appearances … Overall Syracuse holds the record with 22 straight from 1983-2004.

In common

Duke and Notre Dame share eight common opponents, including four non-conference foes … The Blue Devils went 7-2 against the eight foes, while the Irish were 8-3 in the 11 meetings with the eight squads.

Opponent

Duke

Notre Dame

Jacksonville

W, 16-10

W, 19-7

North Carolina

W, 9-8 (OT)

W, 11-10

Denver

W, 14-10

L, 7-10

Virginia

W, 17-15

W, 18-9

Syracuse

W, 21-7, L, 15-16

L, 10-11, W, 15-14

Marquette

W, 20-9

W, 12-7

Maryland

L, 6-10

L, 8-12, W, 6-5, W, 11-6

Harvard

W, 17-11

W, 13-5

Danowski in Rematches

Head coach John Danowski is 21-8 in rematches from regular season games during his eight seasons at Duke … He is 15-7 in rematches when the Blue Devils win the regular season contest … This marks the first time Duke has faced Notre Dame in the postseason after winning the regular season game … In non-conference rematches, Duke is 7-2 with the two losses coming against Johns Hopkins.

NCAA Tournament Notes

• Duke is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA title game and second consecutive

• The Blue Devils are 31-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament … The 31 wins are sixth among Division I teams … Duke is 2-2 in championship games

• Duke has won 25 of its past 31 NCAA playoff games and seven straight … Three of the losses have come against Johns Hopkins in 2005 and 2007 title games and 2008 semifinals

• Overall, the Blue Devils are 26-6 in NCAA action when scoring at least 10 goals and 1-9 when held to single digits

A Win Over Notre Dame Would

• Give Duke its second consecutive NCAA Championship and third overall

• Mark the first time a team has won consecutive championships since Syracuse did so in 2008 and 2009

• Be the program’s 32nd NCAA Tournament victory

• Make Duke 63-58-1 all-time in the month of May

• Give John Danowski his 347th career victory, 128th at Duke and 27th in the NCAA Tournament

• Be the program’s 508th victory

2014 Wolf Moving Up Single-Season Charts

With five points against Denver, Wolf moved into a tie with mentor Matt Danowski on the Duke single-season scoring chart with 97 points … Wolf is fourth in goals and seventh in assists … He is two points shy of becoming the first Duke player and 13th in NCAA history to reach 100 points in a single season.

Category

DUKE

ACC

NCAA

Points (97)

T-1st

T-1st

T-15th

Goals (62)

4th

4th

T-13th

Assists (35)

7th

NA

NA

Wolf Climbing Career Lists

Wolf continues to move up the Duke, ACC and NCAA career lists … His 298 points (182 goals and 116 assists) rank second in Duke and ACC history and ninth in NCAA history … His 182 goals are third in Duke history, fourth in the ACC and 10th all-time in the NCAA records book … He is two points shy of becoming the second player in ACC history and ninth in NCAA history to reach 300 career points.

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Unless you’ve spent the first four and a half months of 2014 helping CNN look for a missing plane, you’re probably aware that we’re celebrating our 16th year as Baltimore’s sports media leader here at WNST. And no, we’ve never been kissed but thanks for asking.

To celebrate our 16th birthday we’re looking over some of the “water cooler” topics of the WNST era and doing our damnedest to try to “define” them with “Sweet 16” lists. Some lists have been better than others. For example, Drew Forrester has only been involved in a couple-so that’s good.

Here’s a recap if you’ve missed any of our first 20 lists thus far this year.

Which brings us to Week 21…and back to your favorite WNST personality.

I actually wrote this preview Saturday while sitting in the press box at the NCAA Lacrosse Final Four between Duke’s win over Denver and Notre Dame’s win over Maryland. I won’t be there to see the Blue Devils face the Fighting Irish Monday for the title, but I have no doubt that Satan will enjoy watching his two favorite teams closely.

This area certainly has a long history with the game of lacrosse at every level and we intend to recognize that with this week’s #WNSTSweet16 list. This week’s topic is the “Sweet 16 All-time Greatest local lacrosse players”.

This list would be WAY easier if I could minimize it to one of the three qualifiers we’re using for the list. Unfortunately for me, I have to combine all three groups to try to make one definite list. Here are the qualifiers.

A-Player played college lacrosse at a school in Maryland. Any of the area schools are options-Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, UMBC, Towson, Navy, Mt. St. Mary’s or even a Division III school like Salisbury or Stevenson.

B-Player played professionally for an area team. Certainly the most prominent pro teams in the area have been the now defunct Baltimore Thunder of the indoor game or the Baltimore/Chesapeake/Washington Bayhawks of the MLL on the outdoor side.

C-Player must have been originally from the immediate area and/or played lacrosse in high school locally. This means anyone who played either for a MIAA program or public school in the Baltimore area can be considered even if they went on to play at the college level outside of the area.

My head hurts just thinking about all of the possibilities. Ugh.

(For the record, I’m going to limit this to the greatest MALE players. It’s just to difficult to compare male vs. female lacrosse accomplishments. We will have opportunities to recognize female contributors to the sport in a later list.)

I’m pretty sure I know the greatest players in Thunder history as well as Johns Hopkins and Maryland history. I could probably use some help in EVERY other area of this list AND in trying to compare players in one group to players in another.

I want your suggestions. You can leave them here in the comments on this blog post or email me (glenn@wnst.net). We will be discussing the list throughout the day Monday on AM1570 WNST.net. We’d love to have you Tweet with us or discuss the topic via Facebook by using the hashtag #WNSTSweet16.

On Tuesday morning, I will unveil the “official” list here at WNST.net and then discuss it with Drew and Luke on “The D&L Window Tinting Morning Reaction” at 8am. I will then re-visit the list at 4pm Tuesday on “The Happy Hours” with Nestor Aparicio.

In the midst of Championship Weekend here in Baltimore-who are the greatest lacrosse players in the history of the area? Make your voice heard!

-G

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BALTIMORE – The No. 2 Salisbury University men’s lacrosse team fell on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in the NCAA Division III national championship game, 12-9, to No. 6 Tufts University, marking only the second time in seven trips that the Sea Gulls have dropped a championship game in Baltimore.

“We fought to the bitter end and had a couple opportunities in the fourth quarter to close the game down to a one-goal game, which we didn’t quite get,” Head Coach Jim Berkman said. “We had an outstanding season. The quality schedule that we played and the number of top-ranked opponents that we won against has been a testament to the great kids and great leadership that we’ve had this season.”

Tufts jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal from Peter Gill, 55 seconds into the game, but the Sea Gulls answered with a 3-0 run to end the first quarter.

Senior midfielder Greg Korvin netted the Gulls’ first goal, curling around the left side of the crease and planting a high shot in the cage, before assisting junior midfielder Sean Fitzgerald 45 seconds later; Fitzgerald ripped a high shot driving left to give SU its first lead, 2-1.

Salisbury took the 3-1 lead into the second quarter, as sophomore midfielder Thomas Cirillo took a pass from senior midfielder Brandon Kendrick and found the cage from 12 yards out on the right wing.

Less than five minutes into the second quarter, senior attackman Luke Phipps dodged his defender and ran to the crease from the right side to score his first and increase the lead to three goals.

The Jumbos used a 2-0 run to cut the lead to 4-3, but senior attackman Rhett DePol scored on a fastbreak goal to regain a two-goal lead, 5-3. DePol took a pass from junior attackman Mike Kane and put away his first on the crease.

Another 2-0 Tufts run tied the game, 5-5, as the teams would take that score into halftime. At the break, Salisbury held a slight lead in shots, 23-21, and ground balls, 16-15, while Tufts won more faceoffs, 7-of-12.

The Jumbos came out of the half with two quick goals in the first five minutes to break the tie, 7-5, with both coming from Ben Andreycak.

Senior midfielder Donovan Lange ripped a low shot from 15 yards to cut the lead to one, but Tufts answered with five-straight goals, outscoring the Sea Gulls, 7-1, in the third quarter.

Trailing 12-6 at the start of the fourth, Salisbury began its comeback attempt, as Lange netted his second just over one minute into the quarter, hitting from the right wing.

Kane scored on the crease on a pass from Phipps just over two minutes later, bringing the Gulls within four goals with 11:36 to play.

Salisbury was unable to complete the comeback, with its final goal coming from Fitzgerald at the 6:52 mark of the fourth.

Senior goalkeeper Alex Taylor played all 60 minutes in the cage, making nine saves in the game.

Playing in its final game, Salisbury’s senior class amassed an 82-9 overall record, while advancing to four NCAA tournaments and three national championship games, winning two.

“I am very proud of our seniors…those guys all refocused our group last year and just had a great run,” Berkman said. “I can honestly say this was one of my most enjoyable years coaching ever.”

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BALTIMORE – The No. 7 seed University of Maryland men’s lacrosse team ended its season with an 11-6 loss to No. 6 seed Notre Dame in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium.

Notre Dame (12-5) got out to a hot start, scoring the game’s first two goals in the opening 8:36 and never trailed in the game. Matt Kavanagh, who led the Irish with seven points on five goals and two assists, scored the first at the 9:58 mark and assisted on the second, which was scored by John Scioscia.

The Terps’ offense not only had to battle a tough Irish defense, but also had to contend with the pipe as senior Mike Chanenchuk and freshman Connor Cannizzaro each had a shot ring off of the cage in the first quarter.

But the rebound on Cannizzaro’s shot went right back to him and he was able to move the ball on to junior Joe LoCascio, who dodged past his defender before bouncing a shot by ND goalie Conor Kelly at the 4:25 mark of the first to trim the Irish lead to 2-1.

Maryland (13-4) tied the score with 2:05 to go in the first when a defensive switch put a short-stick defensive midfielder on Cannizzaro. That worked in the Terps’ favor as Cannizzaro ran by the defender around right goal line extended and scored into the upper right corner.

The Irish used every second of the first quarter, scoring twice in the final 16 seconds, to take a 4-2 lead. Kavanagh scored off an assist from Sergio Perkovic with 16 seconds left. A faceoff violation on junior Charlie Raffa gave Notre Dame the ball on the ensuing faceoff and Nick Ossello came right down and scored unassisted with 9.5 seconds remaining.

The Terrapins opened the second quarter with a good offensive set that saw freshman Matt Rambo set up junior Jay Carlson on the doorstep, but Kelly made the point-blank save to give Notre Dame the ball. That Irish possession was quick as Doyle scored from the left alley to make it a 5-2 Irish lead with 13:28 to go in the second.

Maryland’s extra-man unit had a chance to cut into the ND lead, but Chanenchuk’s look inside was off the mark and picked up by Kelly. That possession led to another Kavanagh goal as he scored from just above right goal line extended from virtually no angle to make it a 6-2 lead for Notre Dame at the 9:12 mark.

Raffa won the ensuing faceoff and LoCascio made it count by ripping a runner from the right alley into the left side of the Irish net with 8:34 left in the first half.

The deficit was cut back to two again at the 1:39 mark when Chanenchuk’s shot was stopped by Kelly, but Carlson was right there waiting for the rebound and he quickly popped it into the back of the net to make it a 6-4 game.

Maryland had a chance to trim the Notre Dame lead back to one on another extra-man opportunity. Chanenchuk laced a perfect pass to Cannizzaro on the back pipe, but Kelly was there again to make the save for the Irish to keep it a 6-4 game heading into halftime.

Notre Dame opened the second half like it did the first, scoring the first two goals to open up an 8-4 lead.

Maryland looked for a spark and found it in its second midfield line. Sophomore Henry West made it a three-goal game at the 7:14 mark, finishing a feed from Chanenchuk with a low-to-low shot from the left wing. The play was set up by a nice dodge from behind the cage by freshman Colin Heacock.

The Irish didn’t let Maryland build any momentum and scored the final two goals of the third to take a 10-5 lead into the fourth quarter.

Chanenchuk scored his lone goal of the game with 6:02 remaining to cut the ND lead to 10-6, but there wasn’t a late-game rally in the cards as the Irish closed out the contest with a goal by Scioscia at the 1:17 mark.

Senior goalie Niko Amato finished the game with 10 saves and one groundball for the Terps, while Kelly was credited with 14 saves for Notre Dame.

Raffa ended up winning 11-of-13 faceoffs with a game-high six groundballs before exiting the game early in the third quarter. Sophomore Jon Garino filled in the remainder of the game and won 4-of-8 draws with two groundballs.

Seniors Michael Ehrhardt and Brian Cooper finished with five and four groundballs, respectively. Sophomore Matt Dunn led the defense with two caused turnovers.

The game was the final game in the careers of nine Maryland seniors: Tyler Adelsberger, Amato, Rustin Bryant,Emmett Cahill, Chanenchuk, Cooper, Ehrhardt, Thomas Guarino, Quinn Haley.

“I’d like to thank our seniors for all that they’ve done,” said Maryland head coach John Tillman following the game. “We’re certainly going to miss all of them and appreciate how much they’ve sacrificed and what they’ve done for this program and this team, just having the characteristics that you want for young people in your organization and representing our state and our school and our alums so well all year, and I’m very proud of them for that.”

Game Notes:
• With today’s 11-6 loss Maryland is now 5-3 all-time vs. Notre Dame and 2-2 in NCAA tournament play.
• Maryland is now 11-11 (.500) all-time in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
• With two points on a goal and an assist, senior Mike Chanenchuk finishes his Terrapin career with 16 hat tricks, 42 multi-point, 30 multi-goal and 13 multi-assist games.
• With his two points, Chanenchuk now has 121 for his Maryland career, moving him past Dick Corrigan (1954-58) for sole-possession of 28th on the Terps’ all-time points list.
• Chanenchuk’s one goal gives him 77 for his Maryland career, moving him into a tie with Mike Mollot (2000-03) and Bill McGlone (2003-06) for 22nd on the Terps’ all-time goals list.
• Chanenchuk finished the season with 59 points, which is the 24th highest single-season point total in Maryland men’s lacrosse history. His 36 goals on the season ties him for 19th on the single-season goals list with Matt Hahn’s 1995 season and Joe Walters’ 2006 season.
• Chanenchuk finished this tournament with 15 points, which is the fifth most in Maryland history for a single tournament.
• With two points on two goals, junior Joe LoCascio now has 11 multi-point and seven multi-goal games for his career.
• With five groundballs, senior Michael Ehrhardt finishes his Terrapin career with 170 groundballs, which ranks 18th on the all-time groundball list.
• With 10 saves, senior Niko Amato finishes his Terrapin career with 625 saves, which ranks third on the all-time saves list.
• With 11 faceoff wins, junior Charlie Raffa finished the season with 194 faceoff victories, which ties him with Brian Haggerty (1998) for the third-most in a single season for the Terps.

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Deemer Class added three goals for Duke (16-3), which will seek its second consecutive national championship and third overall Monday against the winner of the second semifinal between Maryland and Notre Dame.

Attackman Wesley Berg scored five goals for Denver (16-3), which has lost all three of its semifinal appearances. Jack Bobzien added three goals for the Pioneers.

Denver scored three straight goals to pull within 11-10 with 13:46 left. The two teams then traded scores before Duke reeled off three goals in a row to hold off the comeback attempt.

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Kelly McPartland led Maryland (22-1) with a hat trick whileBrooke Griffin and Zoe Stukenberg each chipped in with two goals. Senior Beth Glaros added three points on a goal and two assists. The Terps mustered a critical 14-5 advantage in the ground ball category, paced by two each from Glaros, Taylor Cummings, Shanna Brady and Casey Pepperman.

Cummings kicked off the scoring for the Terps with a goal 3:29 into the game off a great look from Griffin. Northwestern answered with a Jess Carroll goal up the middle about seven minutes later and backed that up with a second-straight tally at 19:19 for its first lead of the game.

Maryland was able to counter in a big way, however, posting a demonstrative 4-0 run, including two tallies in the final 1:33 of the period for a 5-2 lead at the break. McPartland notched two goals in the stretch while Stukenberg and Glaros also got in on the scoring for Maryland. The Terps were also aided by a decisive 9-3 ground ball advantage through the first 30 minutes of play.

Northwestern snapped a nearly 25-minute scoring drought with a free position goal by Alyssa Leonard 5:30 into the second half before Maryland was able to negate the goal with a Glaros score at 23:13.

McPartland continued to facilitate the offense in the second half, finding Stukenberg for a Maryland goal at 16:19 and Griffin tacked on another score with a highlight-reel shot 14 seconds later for an 8-3 Terrapin lead.

Kara Mupo halted the 3-0 Terrapin scoring drive with a tally at 9:21 but once again the Terps countered with yet another goal from McPartland – her third of the game – for a 9-4 lead.

Northwestern cut the score to 9-6 with consecutive goals from Kelly Rich and Mupo with less than five minutes to play but was unable to get any closer as the Terps punched their ticket to the national title game for a second straight season.

In addition to ground balls, Maryland also topped the Wildcats in draw controls, 10-7, led by four from Cummings.

“I’d like to congratulate Northwestern on a great season and just say how proud I am of the way our team played tonight,” head coach Cathy Reese, who has won four national championships as a player, three as an assistant and one as a head coach at Maryland, said. “We came in and fought hard from the very beginning against an opponent who we know is very tough and we haven’t seen all season. We fought the entire 60 minutes and that was crucial tonight for our success.”

With the win, Maryland will make its 22nd berth to the national championship game. The Terps are 11-10 in the previous 21 appearances.

Maryland will play second-seeded Syracuse for a third time this season at 8:30 p.m. Sunday in the national title game at Unitas Stadium. The Terps are vying for a 12th national championship and their first since 2010. The game will be shown live on ESPNU.

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The No. 7-seeded Maryland men’s lacrosse team will face No. 6 seed Notre Dame in the semifinals of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at M&T Bank Stadium. Faceoff is set for 3:30 p.m., as the Terps (13-3 overall) battle the Fighting Irish (11-5) for the third time this season.

• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2, as well as streamed on ESPN3.com and on wireless devices with the WatchESPN app. Eamon McAnaney will handle the play-by-play call, Quint Kessenich will provide the expert analysis and Paul Carcaterra will report from the sideline.

• Both games of the NCAA men’s lacrosse semifinals can be heard on Westwood One Sports. Jason Benetti will handle the play-by-play, while Mark Dixon will provide the expert analysis and Jason Horowitz will report from the sideline. Fans will be able to listen to the radio broadcast from anywhere online athttp://www.westwoodonesports.com and http://www.ncaa.com. The broadcast will also be available through theTune-In Radio app and via satellite radio through SiriusXM Radio (channel TBD).

• The Terps, who received an at-large bid, are making their 37th NCAA Tournament appearance, the second most of any school in NCAA history, while Notre Dame, which earned an automatic bid by winning the ACC tournament, is making its 19th appearance in the NCAA tournament.

• The winner of the Maryland/ND game will advance to the championship game and will face the winner of the No. 1 seed Duke (15-3)/No. 5 seed Denver (16-2) game on Monday, May 26 at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils and the Pioneers play in the first game on Saturday, which is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start in Baltimore.

• Maryland is 13-3 on the season following its 16-8 win over Bryant on May 17 in Hempstead, N.Y. Senior Mike Chanenchuk led the way with nine points vs. the Bulldogs and continues to lead the team this season with 57 points on 35 goals and 22 assists. He is followed by freshman Matt Rambo, who has 35 points on 30 goals and six assists, which is the highest output by a Terrapin freshman since 2008 when Grant Catalino finished with 42 points. JuniorCharlie Raffa has won 183-of-270 (.678) faceoffs this season, which ranks second in the nation, with a team-best 108 groundballs. Senior Michael Ehrhardt has made a seamless transition to the long-stick midfield spot and has 64 groundballs, which leads all non-faceoff men, and a team-best 28 caused turnovers to go along with two goals and two assists. Senior Niko Amato has started every game of his college career (66 straight) and boasts a 7.23 goals-against average (4th in the NCAA) with a .566 save percentage (8th in the NCAA) this season.

• Notre Dame is 11-5 on the season and has won its past five games. Sophomore attackman Matt Kavanagh leads the Irish offense with 65 points on 35 goals and 3- assists. Junior Conor Kelly started the past nine games in goal for the Irish and has a 10.70 goals-against average and is saving 48.0 percent of the shots opponents have put on goal. Senior faceoff specialist Liam O’Connor ranks 12th in the NCAA in faceoff win percentage with .599 on 193-of-322. He is also 16th in the nation in groundballs per game with 7.31 (117 total).

THE COUNT DOWN

10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 112 of the 121 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .926 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 131-27 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .829 winning percentage.
8 … Niko Amato has allowed eight or fewer goals in seven of 11 career NCAA tournament games.
7 … Maryland is 5-4 all-time as the No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament.
6 … Six Maryland freshmen have combined to score 66 goals this season.
5 … This marks the fifth time that Maryland has been the No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament.
4 … Only four Division I teams, including three of the Final Four teams, have a current streal of winning 10 or more games in a season for at least five seasons. Maryland leads that list with 12-straight 10+ win seasons.
3 … Mike Chanenchuk is averaging 3.0 points per game in seven NCAA tournament games as a Terp.
2 … Maryland is making its 22nd Final Four appearance and only two teams have appeared more in the national semifinals: Johns Hopkins (28) and Syracuse (26).
1 … Only one program – Maryland – has earned a bid in every NCAA tournament since 2003.

COACHING MATCH-UP

• John Tillman is in his seventh season as a head coach, and fourth with the Terps, with a 68-37 career record for a 64.8 winning percentage. Tillman is 48-18 (.727) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Kevin Corrigan is in his 28th season as a head coach, with all but one of them at the helm of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. During his 28 years as a head coach he has compiled a 262-134 (.662) career record. At Notre Dame his record is 252-119 (.679).

TILLMAN IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The meeting with Notre Dame will be John Tillman’s 12th NCAA tournament game as a head coach.

• Tillman is 3-1 all-time in first round games, leading the Terps to wins at No. 8 seed North Carolina, 13-6, in 2011, at No. 7 seed Lehigh, 10-9, in 2012 and at home vs. Cornell, 8-7, in 2014 as a No. 7 seed. Tillman’s lone defeat in the first round came in 2013 when the No. 6-seeded Terrapins were defeated at home by Cornell, 16-8.

• Tillman is 3-0 in quarterfinal games with a 2011 win over No. 1 seed Syracuse, 6-5 in overtime, in Foxborough, Mass., an 11-5 win over No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins in 2012 in Annapolis and a 16-8 win over Bryant in 2013 in Hempstead, N.Y.

• Tillman is 2-0 in semifinals with both wins coming over No. 3- seeded Duke teams. The Terps won over the No. 3-seeded Blue Devils, 9-4, in Baltimore in 2011 and then won 16-10 Duke in 2012 in Foxborough, Mass. Maryland would go on to lose both title games, dropping the 2011 game to No. 7 seed Virginia, 9-7, and the 2012 game to No. 1 seed Loyola, 9-3.

• Overall, Tillman is 8-3 (.727) in NCAA tournament games.

• The win over Hopkins in the 2012 quarters made Tillman the only coach in NCAA history to guide two unseeded teams to back-to-back appearances in the Final Four.

• As an assistant coach, Tillman helped guide Navy to four consecutive NCAA tournaments from 2004-07, including a run to the 2004 championship game.

MARYLAND’S 37TH TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Maryland is making its 37th overall NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013. The Terps have played in the second-most tournaments since the event began in 1971. Only Hopkins has played in more with the Blue Jays making their 42nd appearance this season. Virginia is third all-time with 36 NCAA appearances. The Terps have captured two NCAA championships, 1973 and 1975.

MARYLAND’S 12TH-STRAIGHT TRIP TO THE DANCE

• This season marks Maryland’s 12th-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, which is the longest active streak in Division I men’s lacrosse. The Terps are the only program to appear in every NCAA tournament since the field was expanded to 16 teams in 2003.

MARYLAND’S RECORD IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The Terps have won the fourth-most Division I NCAA Tournament games, compiling a 50-34 overall record in 83 games. Only Johns Hopkins (68-33) and Syracuse (62-23) have won more Division I tournament games. Virginia (48-31) is fourth, one game behind Maryland.

• Maryland is seventh by percentage (.595) among all teams ever to play in the tournament. Only Syracuse (62-23, .729), Princeton (30-14, .682), Johns Hopkins (68-33, .674), Duke (30-15, .667), Virginia (48-31, .608) are ahead of the Terps.

• This marks the fourth time that Maryland has been named the No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament. Maryland is 5-3 all-time as the No. 7 seed after the 8-7 win over Cornell in the first round on May 10 and the 16-8 win over Bryant in the quarterfinals on May 17.

• The Terps were previously a No. 7 seed in 1982, 1991, 2007 and 2008.

• In 1982, Maryland lost a first round game to Johns Hopkins by a 14-9 margin.

• In 1991, Maryland advanced to the Final Four, but lost to Towson, 15-11, in the semifinals.

• In 2007, the Terps were upset in the first round by UMBC, 13-9.

• The 2008 tournament saw the No. 7 Terps defeat Denver, 10-7, to advance to the quarters where they fell, 8-7 in overtime, to No. 2 seed Virginia in Annapolis.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NOTRE DAME

• Maryland and Notre Dame have only played seven times. The Terps won the first four games and the first game this season vs. Irish, but ND won in the quarterfinals of the 2010 NCAA tournament and in the semifinals of the 2014 ACC tournament.

• On a sloppy turf at PPL Park in the 2014 semifinals of the ACC tournament, the Fighting Irish took its only lead of the game with 6.5 seconds left and held on for a 6-5 win over the Terps on Apri. 25 in Chester, Pa. Only one player on both teams had multiple points in the game and Maryland had five different goal scorers. Senior goalie Niko Amato was stout in goal, making nine saves.

• Maryland never trailed when it played at No. 8 Notre Dame on April 19, 2014, but the Irish scored four straight goals to tie the game at 8-8 with 11:36 to play in the fourth quarter. But the Terrapins would go on their own 4-0 run over the final 8:51 with the final three goals coming from freshman Connor Cannizzaro to take a 12-8 victory and claim the 2014 ACC regular season championship. Senior Mike Chanenchuk had three goals and an assist, while juniorCharlie Raffa controlled the faceoff spot, winning a career-best 20-of-24 draws with nine groundballs.

• Senior Brian Phipps was sensational in cage for the Terps, stopping 13 Notre Dame shots, but the Fighting Irish scored four times in the first quarter and then held on for a 7-5 win over No. 3 seed Maryland in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament on May 22, 2010 in Princeton, N.J. ND’s Sean Rogers led all scorers with three goals, while junior Travis Reed led the Terrapins with a goal and an assist.

• These two teams met in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2009 in South Bend, Ind., but it was the visiting, unseeded Terps that pulled off the 7-3 upset over the Fighting Irish. Dan Groot scored two goals, while Will Yeatman, who returned to the Notre Dame campus for the first time since transferring to Maryland prior to the 2009 season, and Ryan Young each had two assists. Brian Phipps was solid in cage for the Terps, stopping nine Irish shots.

• The teams played a one-for-one series in 2003 and 2004. Before that the team’s played their first-ever game in 1995 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

• It took two overtimes to decide the 2004 meeting between the Terps and the Irish, but in the end it was Maryland leaving Bryd Stadium with the 9-8 victory. Brendan Healy was the hero for the Terrapins, scoring the game-winner just nine seconds into the second overtime. Those heroics wouldn’t have been possible without some from J.R. Bordley, who’s goal with 19 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 8-8. Joe Walters led all scorers in the game with three goals, while goalie Tim McGinnis was sensation in cage for the Terps, stopping 16 Notre Dame shots.

• The 2003 meeting saw Maryland post a 10-4 win at Moose Krause Stadium in Notre Dame, Ind. on May 3. A stifling defense shutdown the Irish’s top two scorers as the then-No. 4 Terps gave coach Dave Cottle his 200th career coaching victory. The Terps’ All-American defense of Michael Howley, Chris Passavia and Lee Zink, along with goalie Danny McCormick, held Patrick Walsh and Dan Berger pointless. Zink had a huge game with nine groundballs and seven caused turnovers. On offense, Justin Smith, Ryan Moran, Joe Walters and Brian Hunt each had two goals.

• Maryland eliminated Notre Dame from the 1995 NCAA Tournament with a 19-11 win at Byrd Stadium on May 20, 1995. The Terps advanced to the national championship game for the first of three times in a four-year span that season. In that game, Maryland built a 10-2 lead with 5:59 left in the third quarter before the Irish mounted a furious comeback to cut the score to 11-10 Maryland with 9:48 left in the fourth quarter. But Maryland held on behind the Nation’s Outstanding Goalie of the Year Brian Dougherty, who made 16 saves. Ten different Terps scored goals including two each by Pat McGuire, Peter Hilgartner and Kip Fulks. Rob Chomo had four assists and a goal in the win.

THREE TIMES IN A SEASON

• Saturday’s game vs. Notre Dame will mark the seventh time Maryland will have played the same opponent three times in a season. The Terps have won the third meeting on four of the previous six occassions.

• Four of those three-time meetings have come against Duke with Maryland winning having a 3-1 record in NCAA tournament games. The Terps split the regular-season series with the Blue Devils in 2011 and 2012 and won all three games in 1992. The only season in which the two teams played three times and Maryland lost two was 2005 when Duke won the regular season and postseason games, but the Terps won in the ACC championship game in Baltimore.

• The Terps have played North Carolina and Virginia three times is a season once each. In 2008, Maryland won the regular season meeting over the Cavaliers in College Park, but lost in the ACC semifinals and NCAA quarterfinals. In 2011, Maryland lost the regular season game to UNC in Chapel Hill, but rebounded to defeat the Tar Heels in Durham in the ACC semifinals and then returned to Fetzer Field to top Carolina in the first round of the ACC tournament.

MARYLAND’S LARGEST NCAA TOURNAMENT WINS

• Maryland’s 16-8 win over Bryant in the quarterfinals on May 17, 2014 is one of just 14 NCAA tournament games in the Terps’ 50 career postseason wins to be won by a margin of eight goals or more.

• The biggest margin of victory for a Terrapin team in the NCAA tournament came in the 1973 quarterfinals when the eventual NCAA champions whalloped No. 8 seed Brown, 18-5. Nine different Terps scored in the game, led by Bob Mitchell with four goals and Frank Urso and Doug Schreiber, who each posted a hat trick.

• Here are Maryland’s largest margin on victories in NCAA tournament games:

• Maryland’s rally from a 5-1 deficit early in the third quarter in its 8-7 win over Cornell in the first round of the 2014 NCAA tournament was the program’s fourth comeback from a four-goal deficit since 2000.

• Maryland’s 8-7 win over Cornell in the first round of the NCAA tournament was the eighth one-goal victory in the Terps’ 48 tournament wins.

• Overall, the Terrapins have an 8-4 record all-time in one-goal decisions in NCAA tournament games.

• Six of the 12 one-goal games needed overtime to be decided and Maryland has a 4-2 record in those overtime games, including the 1973 championship game where the Terps defeated Johns Hopkins, 10-9 in double-overtime.

• With his 10 saves vs. Navy in the 2014 regular season finale on May 3, senior goalie Niko Amato eclipsed the 600-save mark for his career. He is just the third Terrapin to reach 600 saves for his career, joining Kevin O’Leary (705, 1981-84) and Brian Dougherty (658, 1993-96).

• Amato is one of just four current goalies in NCAA Division I lacrosse with at least 600 career saves and is the only one whose team advanced to the NCAA tournament. The other goalies with at least 600 saves are: Austin Kraut (Penn State, 686), Nicholas Gibaldi (Wagner, 634) and Peter DeLuca (Jacksonville, 619).

GET TO 10 AND WIN

• One axiom of lacrosse is that if you score 10 goals or more your chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there’s not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it’s an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 112 of the 121 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .926 winning percentage.

• Maryland scored 10, but fell at North Carolina, 11-10, on March 24, 2012 and again came out on the losing end, despite scoring 11 in a 13-11 loss at Colgate on May 5, 2012. The Terps scored 11 vs. Johns Hopkins on April 16, 2011, but the Blue Jays won the game in overtime, 12-11. On April 3 of last season the Terps lost to No. 1 Virginia by a final of 11-10, giving Maryland its only loss when scoring 10 or more goals in 2010. In 2009 the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision.

HOLDING OPPONENTS TO SINGLE-DIGITS

• The Terps have been extremely impressive (winning 92.6 percent of its games since 2002) when it scores 10 or more goals, they have been nearly as impressive when holding opponents to less than 10 goals during that span.

• Since 2002 Maryland is 131-27 in games, for a .829 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 209 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 75.6 percent of the time.

SHOOTING TELLS THE STORY

• Since 2005 the Terps are a remarkable 70-4 (.946) when shooting 30% or better in a game. The only four losses were: 13-10 to Georgetown in 2009 (the Terps shot 10 of 30 for 33.3% vs. the Hoyas), 11-10 to No. 1 Virginia on April 3, 2010 (10 of 33 for 30.3%), 12-11 in overtime on April 16, 2011 to No. 3 Johns Hopkins (11 of 28 for 39.3%) and 13-11 at Colgate on May 5, 2012 (11 of 31 for 35.5%).

• Maryland is 13-3 on the year and shot 30% or better in eight of its 13 victories and just barely missed that mark in the win at Syracuse.W- Mount St. Mary’s: 16 goals, 44 shots = 36.4%

• If 30% is the benchmark, then 40% shooting is in a class all to itself and Maryland has shot 40% or better in 17 games since the start of the 2008 season. Out of those 16 games, Maryland shot 50% or better in five of them.

NINE IS ENOUGH

• Senior Mike Chanenchuk scored five goals and added four assists for a career-best nine-point outing to lead the No. 7 seed Maryland men’s lacrosse team to a dominating 16-8 victory over Bryant in front of a record crowd at Shuart Stadium in the NCAA quarterfinals on Saturday.

• Chanenchuk, who scored the game-winner in the first round vs. Cornell with :02 left in the game, continued to make this a postseason to remember by doing something no other Terp has done in the past 35 years. His nine points is the most for a Terrapin player since March 28, 1979 when Bob Boneillo had 13 points on three goals and 10 assists vs. Duke.

• It has been nearly 38 years since the last time a Maryland player had nine points in a game with more goals than assists was May 23, 1976 when Ed Mullen had 12 points on seven goals and five assists in a 22-11 win over Navy in the NCAA semifinals.

• In the 89-season history of Maryland men’s lacrosse Chanenchuk is just the fifth player to post a documented nine-point game and is just the second Terp to have such a game in the NCAA tournament.

• Even if Chanenchuk only had the five goals his afternoon would have been momentous as it has been more than eight years since a Maryland player has had five goals in an NCAA tournament game. The last Terp to do so was Max Ritz vs. Denver in the first round in 2006 at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.

• The nine-point effort vaulted Chanenchuk over eight former Terps in career points and he is now tied for 28th with 119 points.

TERPS IN PRO STADIUMS

• Maryland has played 17 games in an NFL stadium. All-time the Terps are 10-7 (.588) in professional stadiums.

• The 2012 season saw the Terps play twice at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Maryland defeated No. 3 seed Duke, 16-10, in the NCAA semifinals, but fell to No. 1 seed Loyola, 9-3, in the championship game.

• In 2011, Maryland played No. 1 seed Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and the Terps pulled out a 6-5 victory in overtime. Maryland then defeated Duke, 9-5, and lost to Virginia, 9-7, in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore in the Final Four.

• The Terps played two games in 2010 in NFL Stadiums in the regular season. Maryland defeated Duke 11-10 in overtime in the Face-Off Classic. Maryland returned to M&T Bank Stadium in April for the Day of Rivals and bested Johns Hopkins, 10-9.

• In 2009, Maryland topped Duke, 11-8, at the Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium and lost a 10-9 decision to Johns Hopkins in the inaugural Day of Rivals.

• In 2006, the Terps were 1-1 at M&T Bank Stadium, defeating North Carolina, 10-9, in the ACC semis at M&T Bank Stadium before dropping an 11-5 decision to Virginia in the finals. Maryland then lost to UMass, 8-5, at Lincoln Financial Field in the NCAA Semifinals.

• In 2005, Maryland was 3-1 in NFL stadiums – 1-1 at Lincoln Financial Field and 2-0 at M&T Bank Stadium.

• Maryland lost to Virginia in the 2003 NCAA Semifinals in M&T Bank Stadium.

STREAKING TERPS

• Thirteen proved to be an unlucky number for senior Mike Chanenchuk, who saw his 35-game point scoring streak, which dated back to the Johns Hopkins game on Apr. 14, 2012, come to an end in the Terps’ 6-5 loss to Notre Dame in the ACC semifinals. Overall, for his Maryland career Chanenchuk has tallied at least one point in 41 of 44 games.

• Chanenchuk’s point-scoring streak was the second longest since the 2004 season. The only other point-scoring streak longer belongs to Joe Walters, who had at least one point in 45 straight from Feb. 2004 to April 2006. Here’s a look at the Terps’ 20+ game point-scoring streaks since 2004.

• In conjunction with his point-scoring streak, Chanenchuk also had an impressive 23-game goal-scoring streak going, but that came to an end in the 11-6 loss at Johns Hopkins on April 12 when he regiatered three assists, but didn’t score a goal. Prior to the Hopkins game, the last time Chanenchuk did not score a goal for the Terps was in the 23-6 season-opening win over Mount St. Mary’s on Feb. 8, 2013.

• The Terp with the longest current point-scoring streak is now freshman Matt Rambo, who has had at least one point in eight straight games.

FRESHMAN HAT TRICKS

• With four goals in his first college game, a 16-3 win over Mount St. Mary’s (Feb. 8), Matt Rambo became just the ninth Maryland men’s lacrosse freshman to record a hat trick since 1998. He followed that up with another hat trick in the 14-3 win over UMBC (Feb. 15) to become the first Terp to record back-to-back hat tricks in his first two collegiate games since Grant Catalino in 2008. Rambo netted his third hat trick of the season with four goals in the Terps’ 13-5 win at Michigan (March 18) and then added his fourth with three goals in the 19-6 win over Robert Morris (April 2).

• Rambo’s latest hat trick came in the Terps’ 8-7 victory over Cornell in the first round of the NCAA tournament (May 10). That is the first time a Terrapin freshman has recorded a hat trick in an NCAA tournament game since May 14, 2000 when Mike Mollot had three goals and four assists in a 14-12 win over Hofstra in the first round.

• Connor Cannizzaro scored his first hat trick with three goals in the Terps’ 16-8 win at Syracuse to become the 10th Terp freshman with a hat trick since 1998. This marks just the second time since 1998 that two freshman have recorded hat tricks in the same season. Cannizzaro netted his second career hat trick vs. Villanova on March 14 and added his third at Notre Dame on April 20.

• Cannizzaro matched Rambo with his own hat trick in an NCAA tournament game, scoring three goals while also adding two assists in Maryland’s 16-8 win in the quarterfinals vs. Bryant.

• Game-by-game stats haven’t been saved since the 1998 season, so the following chart can only go back to then, but here’s a look at freshman hat tricks (consecutive games are underlined):

• Maryland freshmen Connor Cannizzaro, the 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year, and Matt Rambo have been two of the Terps’ dominant offensive players this season and have combined to total 69 points on 55 goals and 14 assists. That’s the highest total for a pair of Maryland freshmen since 2008 when Grant Catalino and Travis Reed totaled 73 points on 49 goals and 24 assists.

• Cannizzaro (25 goals) and Rambo (30 goals) have combined for the highest goal total for a pair of Maryland freshmen since 1973. Their 55 goals are two better than Andrew Whipple (24 goals) and Matt Hahn’s (29 goals) total of 53 in 16 games in 1995.

• Here’s a look at the highest scoring freshmen duos since 1973, which is the first year freshmen were eligible to compete in men’s lacrosse:

• Senior midfielder Mike Chanenchuk scored five of the Terps’ 10 goals in the team’s 10-6 win over No. 1 Duke on March 1, 2014. That performance marks just the ninth time since 1998 that a Maryland player scored at least 50 percent of the team’s goals in a victory (with a five-goal minimum). Chanenchuk is the first Maryland player since 1998 to accomplish the feat at home.

• Here’s a look at Terps who have scored 50% or more of the team’s goals (min. 5 goals) in wins since 1998:

• During the March 30 game vs. Virginia, Maryland honored military men and women injured in the line of duty with a partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project. The Terrapins wore special Under Armour Freedom uniforms that were auctioned off at umterps.com. The auction raised more than $25,000 with 100% of the proceeds going directrly to the Wounded Warrior Project. The Maryland men’s lacrosse program and the Maryland athletics department thank everyone for their generous support.

UNDEFEATED HOME SEASONS

• The 2014 Maryland team is the first since 2001 and just the 11th since 1971 to go through the regular season undefeated at home.

• The 1972 team finished the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record at home and won its first NCAA tournament game at home, but lost at home to Johns Hopkins, 9-6, in the NCAA semifinals at Byrd Stadium.

* Maryland was 4-0 at Byrd Stadium, the win over UMBC on May 5 was at Ludwig Field

TILLMAN, AMATO AND CANNIZZARO EARN ACC HONORS

• Head coach John Tillman, senior goalie Niko Amato and freshman attackman Connor Cannizzaro were among the recipients of the annual ACC men’s lacrosse individual awards, the conference announced on May 1. Tillman was selected as the ACC Coach of the Year, while Amato and Cannizzaro were named the Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively.

• Tillman earns his first ACC Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Terrapins to an 11-3 overall record, including a 4-1 mark in conference play, which earned Maryland the 2014 ACC Regular Season championship. Tillman, who is in his fourth season at the helm of the Maryland program, is the third Terrapin head coach to earn the honor, joining Dick Edell, who won the award in 1989, 1992 and 1998, and Dave Cottle, who won the award in 2004 and 2008.

• Amato, who is the first goalie in the history of the ACC to be named to the All-ACC squad four times, becomes the second Terp to win the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award in just the third season of the award’s existence. The native of Conshohocken, Pa., leads the conference with a 7.19 goals-against average, which is nearly a full goal less than the second-place goalie. He is also tops in the conference with a .577 save percentage. A four-time ACC Defensive Player of the Week honoree this season, Amato was at his best in conference games and had a 7.80 goals-against average with a .585 save percentage in the five regular season conference games. His standout performance of the season came in the Terps’ 10-6 victory over then-No. 1 Duke on March 1 when he recorded a season-best 17 saves, which is the most by an ACC goalie this year.

• Cannizzaro becomes the eighth Terrapin to earn the ACC Freshman of the Year award and is the first Maryland attackman to win the award since Joe Walters in 2003. The native of Cazenovia, N.Y., was solid throughout the season for the Terps, and is tied for third on the team with 26 points and is fourth with 20 goals. But Cannizzaro excelled in ACC games this season and ranks 10th in the conference in points per game (2.80) and goals per game (2.0). He scored three goals and added an assist in the Terps’ 16-8 win at Syracuse on Feb. 22 and matched that performance with three goals and an assist in Maryland’s 12-8 win at Notre Dame on April 19. He also had two goals and an assist in each of the Terps’ games vs. Virginia and North Carolina.

LEAGUE-BEST FIVE TERPS NAMED TO ALL-ACC TEAM

• Senior goalie Niko Amato became the first goalie in the history of the ACC to be named to the all-conference team for the fourth time in his career. He is just the fifth player ever to be a four-time honoree with Duke attackman Jordan Wolf joining him as the sixth player with his fourth selection this season.

• The five All-ACC selections are the most for the Terps since 2006 when they also placed five on the all-conference team.

TERPS’ 89TH SEASON OF LACROSSE

• The Terps boast an all-time record of 760-256-4 (.747), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 88 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 12-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field and became just the fourth program with 750 wins with a 16-8 win at No. 2 Syracuse on Feb. 22, 2014.

• During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland’s win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage. So far, Maryland is 58-22 in the 2010’s for a .728 winning percentage.

THE 700 CLUB

• Maryland’s 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program’s 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men’s lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy, Army and Cornell as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

• Two things that make Maryland’s accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

• Maryland’s 12-8 win at Notre Dame on April 20, 2014 extended the Terps’ streak of double-digit win seasons to 12, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse. (Special thanks to Patrick Stevens of the D1scource.com).

• There are only four programs with a current streak of at least five-straight 10-win seasons:

• Cornell’s string of seven-straight 10+ win seasons came to an end in 2012 with a 9-4 final mark. Virginia’s streak of eight-consecutive seasons with 10+ wins ended in 2013 with a 7-8 record, while Siena saw its run of six 10-win seasons end with an 8-9 mark this season.

TERPS ON ESPNU

• Maryland has had 53 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 29-24 (.547) all-time in games broadcast on ESPNU.

• The Terps played five games (at North Carolina, vs. Virginia, at Johns Hopkins, at Notre Dame, vs. Notre Dame in the ACC tournament semifinals and vs. Cornell in the first round of the NCAA tournament) on ESPNU in 2014.

FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS

• Maryland has played 80 different opponents in its 89 seasons, including the first-ever meeting between the Terps and Michigan and then vs. Robert Morris earlier this season. In the Terps’ 80 first-time meetings Maryland is 76-4 (.950) in those games. Adelphi (12-13, 1982), Army (0-3, 1923), Syracuse (3-10, 1927) and Yale (3-5, 1925) are the only schools to beat the Terps the first time the schools met on a lacrosse field.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

• Many school’s refer to their sports programs as families, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse program is truly a family affair. Since 2001, the Terps have had 13 sets of brothers, including three on this season’s roster, don the red and black together for at least one season.

• The 2014 season is the first since 2000 that the Terps have not had a brother combination on the roster.

MARYLAND IN SEASON OPENERS

• Maryland has an 85-3-1 (.961) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 19 openers and 26 of the last 27, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

21 STRAIGHT IN SEASON OPENERS

• After beating Mount St. Mary’s to open the 2013 season the Terps have an 20-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary’s (three times), Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (four times), Bellarmine (twice), Presbyterian, Detroit Mercy and Hartford. Over the 21-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 306-108 (an average score of 14.6-5.1) in those games.

• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 21 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

FOUR TAKEN IN MLL DRAFT

• Led by senior defender Michael Ehrhardt, four Maryland men’s lacrosse student-athletes were chosen in the 2014 Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft.

• Senior midfielder Mike Chanenchuk was the next Terrapin off the board, also joining the Hounds as the 11th overall selection.

• The third Terp to be selected was senior goalie Niko Amato, becoming the first Terp to join the Florida Launch, with the 29th overall selection.

• The final Terp to be drafted was senior short-stick defensive midfielder Brian Cooper, who earned the distinction of being 2014’s MLL equivalent of “Mr. Irrelevant” as the final selection of the draft, going with the 64th overall selection to the Chesapeake Bayhawks.

FIVE TERP ALUMS SELECTED FOR TEAM USA

• Five Maryland men’s lacrosse alumni were named to the 30-man roster for the U.S. National Team that will compete at the 2014 FIL World Championships from July 10-19 in Denver.

• Jesse Bernhardt (2013), Dan Burns (2011), Jeff Reynolds (2009), Drew Snider (2012) and Lee Zink (2004) made the team, which was selected from an original pool of 98 players through a seven-month selection process.

• Maryland’s five selections are tied for the most of any college program with Johns Hopkins, which also has five alums among the 30-man roster.

2014 TEAM CAPTAINS

• Four players have been named team captains for the 2014 season. The quartet, which was selected by a combination of team vote and coaches’ input, consists of seniors Tyler Adelsberger, Niko Amato, Mike Chanenchukand Michael Ehrhardt.

BIG TEN LACROSSE STARTS IN 2015

• The University of Maryland’s men’s lacrosse team will compete in the Big Ten Conference beginning with the 2015 season, following an announcement from the conference office on June 3, 2013 that the Big Ten has secured six men’s teams when Johns Hopkins was accepted as a sport affiliate member for men’s lacrosse only beginning with the 2014-15 academic year to give the Big Ten six men’s programs, joining Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.

• The six programs that will comprise Big Ten men’s lacrosse boast 56 national championships, with schools that have competed for more than a century. Johns Hopkins has been an independent since 1883 and leads all schools with 44 national championships. Maryland has claimed 11 national titles, while Rutgers has also won a national championship. The Scarlet Knights launched men’s lacrosse in 1887, followed by programs starting in 1913 for Penn State, 1924 for Maryland and 1953 for Ohio State. Michigan instituted a men’s lacrosse program in 2012. Maryland, Ohio State and Penn State each qualified for the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship in 2013, with the Buckeyes advancing to the quarterfinals.

Comments Off on Maryland eyes return to national championship game Saturday against Notre Dame

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – University of Maryland senior Niko Amato was selected as the winner of the 2014 Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding goalie in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse by the USILA, on Friday.

Amato becomes the fifth Terrapin goalie to win the Kelly Award and is the first since his mentor, Brian “Doc” Dougherty, won the award in back-to-back seasons in 1995 and 1996. In total, a Maryland goalie has won the Kelly Award eight times since it was first given out in 1949.

The native of Conshohocken, Pa., was named a first team All-American by the USILA on Thursday, May 22, after ranking fourth in the nation with a 7.23 goals against average and eighth with a .566 save percentage.

Amato, who is a three-time All-American for his storied Terrapin career, was named the 2014 ACC Defensive Player of the Year in April and was also the first goalie to ever be a four-time All-ACC selection. He is also just the fifth goalie in Maryland history to earn All-America honors three times during his career and is the first during the NCAA tournament era.

Amato is just the second Maryland goalie to guide his team to three Final Four berths and has started all 66 games of his collegiate career.

Amato and the No. 7-seeded Terps face No. 6 seed Notre Dame on Saturday, May 24, in the Final Four in Baltimore. The Terps/Fighting Irish match-up will be the second game of the Saturday doubleheader that features No. 1 Duke meeting No. 5 Denver in the first game at 1 p.m.